TNT Overtime has been providing live streams of NBA games throughout the 2011-12 season and it continues its coverage throughout the playoffs.
TNT Overtime has decided to give its live stream a completely different view than its regular version on its network television broadcast.
There are multiple camera angles shown on Overtime that are not shown on the regular broadcast. It is a ploy to give fans a different way to watch the game and give them options for how they might want to view the game.
The “mosaic” is set up to watch four different camera angles at one time. The mosaic can drive a person crazy and may be best for the viewer with ADHD.
If the mosaic seems to be too much, then, fans may switch to a camera only designated to watch one team. There is a camera for each team. A problem with the Team cam angle is that some action is missed if a player being watched is not on the ball.
The Action cam is intense. It is right at court level and gives the viewer a feeling of motion sickness. The views are unmistakably close to the players and the action, but it can be too distracting for the eyes and brain to keep up with.
The Backboard cam seems to be the most accommodating and pleasing to watch. As the action switches from the different sides of the court, so does the Backboard cam. Apparently, there are only two cameras, one on each backboard.
The announcers are heard in the same way, but there are distinct changes in the rhythm of the broadcast from the regular network broadcast. For one thing, instant replays are not shown at all, so anything missed must be measured by how the announcers call it during the replay.
During the halftime show with Ernie, the Chuckster, and the guys, not all the stats and fun stuff they talk about gets aired for viewing.
Also, there is some viewing on the court with no volume during time-outs as the advertising campaigns’ run-times are different. For voyeurs, they might get some jollies in watching fans at courtside. There are plenty of close-ups of them.
Overall, the best that can be said for TNT Overtime is that it is free. So, without any issues of money, this Internet feed travels easily with the consumer and their laptop.
It is a bold broadcast, something unusual to watch, but it gets the job done. A good game is still a fun game to watch.
It is being heavily promoted by Yahoo Sports with a link providing direct access most of the time on the homepage. TNT, Yahoo Sports, and NBA.com appear to have partnered on this viewing venture to find new avenues for sports consumer’s tastes and alternative roads to their hearts.
The upcoming schedule can be found on the NBA page on Yahoo Sports or try www.tntdrama.com.
Howard Alperin is Managing Editor of AmericanizeSoccer.com
About Howard M Alperin
Something that they could REALLY use is a display of the game-clock and shot-clock, to help make sense of what is viewed in the overall timing and flow of the game. There is space for it now in their graphics layout on the screen, and I’d find that info much more useful than the shooting stats of the two teams during the game (if they feel the need to eliminate something to make room for the clocks). It seems to me that this is the little more than use of the various camera feeds that may not be getting used on the primary broadcast. The price is right, and it is good to have it, but there are a number of ways to make what is put online a better experience for the viewer.
I am amazed at how horrible this viewing experience is. for one, not have a game clock is just one of the first things you would think to make part of the viewing experience. For a while, they didn’t even view the commercials.
Tip to TNT, if I would rather watch a pirated site’s stream than your own, you are not accomplishing your mission. Make money with your commercials and giving me a viewing experience that I can enjoy. Traditional TV viewing is dead in my generation and so adapt or die.